Post-Trip Bloggery

Hey!

For those of you who still read this, I wanted to give you a little update. From now on I'm just going to think of snazzy titles to give my posts, since the "Day ___" thing is kinda done now. As for this one, I felt that since I started this blog out with a "Pre-Trip Bloggery" I should bring the trip portion to a close with a "Post-Trip Bloggery". Makes sense, right?

Anyway, a lot of people have asked me how I'm feeling now that the trip is over. Am I sad that we are done with it? Do I feel like I missed out on anything? Or am I happy that it's over? Well... the answer is.... all of the above, and much more! Tim and I had so much fun this past month, and we made so many amazing memories that we will never forget! We saw some pretty awesome sights, met lots of cool people, visited with family, and had the adventure of a lifetime! Now that we are back, we both feel a little sad that that journey had to come to an end. There is still so much in the country that we didn't get a chance to see, either because of time or money constraints. Sure we saw a good chunk of it, but our country is a big place! A fact we are much more aware of after the long, long, and did I mention long drive across it... twice. Which brings me to the question of us being happy now that we finally reached an end to our travels. Being on the road has a lot of neat perks. Such as, we don't have to worry about keeping a house clean, we don't have any "house rules" to follow, we get plenty of time alone... and of course we get a top-rate, first-hand look at the often breathtaking views countryside has to offer. The mountains, the valleys, the lakes, and even the deserts. But after a while, driving gets to be a little... painful. And the desert is beautiful at first, but once you see it, non-stop, for about 400+ miles... it gets kinda old. And while mountains are awe inspiring from a distance, up close they tend to be hilly and full of sharp turns... in other words, not a relaxing drive. And if you aren't really sure how many miles it is from one side of the US to the other, let me tell you. We put over 8,100 miles on our car during this trip, not to mention the other 2,000 miles we flew. I'll pause to give you a moment to visualize that. . . . .Now, does any of this make me regret our decision to drive, or the trip in general? HECK NO! These experiences gave me a much greater respect for the features that make our country so great, as well as the overall size of our country! I used to take it for granted how easy it is for me to get peaches from Georgia, steak from Texas, and grapes (ok, wine) from California. Now that I've seen the distances all that has to come to get to me, I am fully aware that I would not be partaking in any of that if not for people willing to make that drive on a regular basis. Well, or for the invention of airplanes. But we saw an awful lot of truckers making long hauls in the middle of the night, surely just so that you could have fresh fruit at your local Giant/Safeway/Walmart the next morning. So forget the troops, next time you see one, thank a trucker! Well, maybe you should thank the troops too.

Anyway, Tim and I had tons of fun on our trip and are so grateful to everyone who helped us out before we left, and along the way! Daddy, Momma, Karen & Mommom, Grandma Boots, Uncle Bob & Aunt Jenn, Grandma Judy & Grandpa Tom, Aunt Patti & Uncle Bill, Uncle Kirk & Aunt Linda, Uncle Bruce, Heather & Kim, and a HUGE thank you to Uncle John! Without you all this would have never been possible! It was an amazing experience, and one I know Tim and I will never forget!

The other question I'm getting a lot is "what now"? Well, that's a great question! The hunt for a job is on, full swing! So, if anyone catches wind of something that smells like a job, point me in that direction and let me loose! Seriously though, if anyone has any suggestions or leads I'd love to hear about them! You can message me here (I fixed the comment issue, I think), or you can e-mail me at AGarvin@gmail.com with anything you find. Tim is also looking for a job, but he still has a bit more school to finish up. So he's looking for part-time things like Help Desk, and Sales Associate. Still, let me know if you hear about anything like that opening up. We are planning on staying in PA for a while, but you know how plans are... Pretty Lies And Nasty Surprises. Before you ask Mom, yeah, I came up with that one on my own. Anyhoo, we really appreciate you all keeping an eye out for jobs for us! You're the best!

Remember to keep on checking in!